At the beginning of last week, we had the 2021 Annual Shareholders meeting which came with a bunch of announcements. It is not uncommon for bigger announcements to come out during the shareholder event as it is a way of keeping the shareholders up to date. Let’s check out the Disney 2021 Shareholder Meeting announcements.
One of the biggest announcements was that Executive Chairman and former CEO Bob Iger will be leaving the Disney company at the end of the year. This is reported to be the end of December of 2021.
Disney Plus
There has been a lot of positive news that came out of the meeting as well. This includes that in 15 months of Disney Plus being operational, they have surpassed 100 million subscribers. This is a huge milestone for the short time since its release. A big goal set by Disney is to have 100 new programs for DTC (Direct-To-Consumer) services each year. This includes Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN Plus.
Disney Parks announcements
It was also announced that Disneyland in California would start reopening starting on April 1st. However, this will be a slow opening process to get furloughed employees back to work. The parks should open up to guests by the end of April. It is unclear when Disney Cruises could come back but could be possible towards the end of the year. Much of this is depending on vaccine rollout, among other things. ‘The Disney Wish’ will set sail in Summer 2022, the newest Disney cruise line.
There were several announcements about the 50th anniversary. One of the biggest announcements that came back as a little surprise is the opening of the Ratatouille ride. Many expected this to open within the next couple of months but instead, this will be held until October. The other big news for Epcot is that they are fine-tuning Harmonious, the new night-time spectacular.
Overall, there was a lot of positive news to come out of this year’s Disney 2021 shareholder meeting announcements. What do you think is the best news? Let us know in the comments!